Various methods of dying or tattooing the skin have been used for centuries. Simply painting the skin, for example, requires ideally a certain degree of artistic ability and an understanding of various paints or dyes and their effect on skin. Tattooing, historically, has typically involved a tattoo artist dying the skin, through a painful process using needles and permanent dyes. Permanent tattoos are often seen as undesirable due to their permanent nature, their cost, the pain involved, the possible health risks associated with contaminated needles and the need for a skilled tattoo artist. Although some people are willing to obtain a permanent tattoo, they often would like to experience the same tattoo in the same location and size on a temporary, trial basis first.
Other people who would never consider obtaining permanent tattoos would obtain temporary tattoos if the temporary tattoo were safe and easy to apply, required no artistic skill or knowledge of dyes or paints and if the user could control the duration of the tattoo on the skin. Such temporary tattoos would be especially desirable for those who may want a temporary tattoo for a special occasion, for example, or for the duration of a holiday.
There are several existing methods and devices for applying temporary tattoos. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,578,353 and 5,601,859, which were issued to Drew in 1996 and Penaluna in 1997, respectively, describe temporary tattoos which can be transferred from a substrate to the recipient's skin by wetting the substrate and applying the substrate to the skin. Such forms of temporary tattoos typically either create superficial markings on the skin or else involve the transfer of a coloured thin film to the skin, both which tend to wash off or fade shortly after being applied. As well, the user typically cannot control the length of time the temporary tattoo will remain on the skin. Further, due to the process involved in creating the substrate, it is unlikely that a user would or could create his or her own tattoo designs.
Several methods are known for applying temporary tattoos using the dye henna. One method involves the use of henna paste applied with a vessel similar to a pastry bag used to apply cake icing. The dye is carefully applied to the user's skin in the desired pattern. This method requires artistic skill, and patience by the artist and the user while the dye is being applied. This method also requires the user to remain still for hours while the dye sets and the henna must be repeatedly moistened to prevent the dye from drying or flaking.
Henna can also be processed into a drier paste form (similar to plasticine) where strips of henna may be carefully pressed onto the user's skin in a desired pattern. This method also requires artistic skill, patience and stillness by the user while the dye dries.
If henna is used in a liquid form, a stencil with a pattern removed therefrom may be applied to the user's skin onto which the henna may be poured to form a temporary tattoo in the shape of the pattern. However, the henna must be repeatedly re-hydrated during the process to avoid premature drying and cracking of the henna. Also, the user must be very careful to remain still during application and drying of the dye to avoid leakage or spillage of the dye beyond the pattern.
Because of the need to use two hands to apply henna according to these known methods, and because artistic skill is typically required, one is unlikely to be able to apply such temporary tattoos by oneself. Further, because of the skill and time required to apply these tattoos, the cost is often high. These methods also do not lend themselves to the mass production of temporary tattoos.
There are also several methods known for creating temporary suntan "tattoos". For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,470,351, which was issued to Ross in 1995, describes a method for creating a suntan "tattoo" where a piece of material, which is capable of blocking the tanning rays from the sun, is adhered to a user's skin. When the user exposes the skin to sunlight (or other tanning source) the skin will tan except under the material. Accordingly, the pattern defined by the material is "tattooed" onto the skin.
A similar concept is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,052,418, which was issued to Miller in 1991. This patent describes a piece of material adhered to the skin in which a pattern has been previously cut out and removed from the material. Sun block is then applied to skin in the cut out pattern. The material is then removed from the skin. When the skin is exposed to sunlight, the pattern protected by the sun block will create a temporary "tattoo" because that area will not tan at all or at a rate different from the surrounding skin.
Both of these suntan "tattoo" methods obviously require prolonged sun tanning, which is now frequently avoided due to increased awareness of the risk of skin cancer. Further, these methods require warm sunny weather or access to tanning salons. Obviously, as well, one has no choice of colour for the "tattoo". Such methods may also be problematic when one would like to apply a temporary tattoo to a private area of the body.